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Report From Chicago

Chicago Tribune has a Story on the Big ALA conference that was held last week. It\'s a pretty cool article that really harps on the \"librarian strereotype\", but covers what librarians are up to in the US in the year 2000, Ebooks, the internet, low pay, better jobs outside the profession, etc....

\"Stereotypes are stereotypes, and whatever the field or profession, it\'s a matter of taking a look at the person as an individual,\" said Kathleen Walsh, Chicago Public Library spokeswoman. \"But librarians are probably some of the most articulate, smart and energetic people you\'ll come across.\"

Still, shattering long-held stereotypes remains a challenge.

\"Nobody understands what a librarian does,\" said Rebecca Albrecht, 31, a librarian at Pace University in New York. \"We\'re so busy working, we don\'t have time to market ourselves well. At every conference, they tell us to market ourselves better.\"